


When We Were Young

by bovaria



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Angst, Drama, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-16 04:19:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5813860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bovaria/pseuds/bovaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Model!Dean AU with Photographer!Reader. From growing up together to reuniting as adults.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“All right, enough chattering,” a large woman with bushy blonde hair and overdone makeup glanced at her sixth grade Earth and Space science class with a frown. It was the first day of school and she was already feeling the headache that was sure to make itself known by the end of the week. “Settle down!”

At her shrill voice, every student became silent and quickly found an empty seat to take. She gave them all a wide, forged smile as gratitude. “Welcome to Earth and Space Science! I am Mrs. Paulson and I will _not_ tolerate any unruly conduct in my class. You will be wise to be on your utmost behavior while you’re here; if you aren’t, a detention slip will be waiting for you by the time you make your way out. Do I make myself clear?”

A drone of agreements reached her ears and she grinned satisfactorily. She clapped her hands once before picking up a stack of papers, licking her thumb and forefinger to separate the sheets. “This is your syllabus,” she said as she began to hand out the sheets, ignoring the grimaces of the students as she handed them the sheets. “Learn it, live it, love it. I will always abide by the schedule you find there and everything that will be required of you is in that sheet. Is that understood?”

A few students nodded their heads as others read over the seemingly endless syllabus. The transition from elementary to middle was frightening to most of them and Mrs. Paulson was only adding fuel to the fire.

You fidgeted in your seat and stole a glance at the boy sharing the table with you. He was really cute and your cheeks flared up as he looked at you and smiled. You shyly returned it with a smile of your own that was more like a grimace before Mrs. Paulson was slamming two syllabuses on the table.

“Oh, no,” you said with a groan as you saw everything that you were going to go over during the school year. Science was one of your weak subjects and you weren’t prepared to pay attention to a required class that spoke about things you couldn’t care less about.

“Alright, now that you all have your syllabus,” Mrs. Paulson said, steering you away from your thoughts and straight to the front of the classroom, where she stood like a proud, fat peacock. It would have made you laugh, but then you remembered the torture she was going to put you through and you ended up scowling.

“The person sitting right next to you,” Mrs. Paulson continued without any regard to your dread of her class. “They will be your partner for the rest of the school year. You all better hope they’re good partners because you’ll be doing all of your projects with them, and that includes building a solar system together.”

The students groaned and whined simultaneously, your voice joining them. Perfect. You hated group projects, it was always you who ended up doing the work.

“Now,” Mrs. Paulson said, sitting down on her office chair. “I will give you fifteen minutes to get acquainted with one another and then present three facts to the class about your partner. Understood? Okay, go!” she clapped her hands and turned towards her computer.

You wrung your hands on your lap, not daring to glance at the boy next to you. You hated being forced into conversations and the nerves of starting your first day of middle school weren’t helping at all.

You heard him clear his throat before a hand was thrust right in front of you. “Hi, my name is Dean,” he said.

“Um, Y/N,” you replied, reluctantly taking his hand and letting him do all of the shaking.

“I’m new in town!” Dean said, voice friendly as he nonchalantly began to talk, not bothered by your shy disposition. “My family and I just moved here two weeks ago. I was sort of nervous to begin but I like the school. And the town isn’t as bad as the one I used to live in before. How long have you lived here?”

“I-I was born here,” you answered, your eyes meeting his. His expression was opened and approachable, and you felt yourself relax.

“Awesome! You can totally tell me about the cool places, the hideouts, where we can go swimming!” he said excitedly. “Everyone says that there isn’t somewhere to swim, but I think they’re lying!”

“They are,” you said, nodding your head enthusiastically, your shyness now a thing of the past. “There’s a lake not too far from here, it’s one of my favorite places to hang out. Not many people speak about it though. Most of them are too scared because they said that some little girl drowned there and now her ghost haunts the waters. Lies, if you ask me,” you rolled your eyes. Your dad had always told you that there was no such thing as the supernatural realm and you believed him more than anyone else.

“I agree,” Dean said. “My dad isn’t too big on the paranormal crap either. But can you show me where the lake is after school?”

“Sure,” you said, beaming at the thought of making a new friend.

“Awesome,” Dean’s grin was wide and contagious as you giggled happily.

The chatter between the two of you continued as he told you about his little brother, that was four years younger than him, and how smart he was. His name was Sam and he was sad to see Dean go to middle school and had even cried when their mom had dropped them off that morning. Dean also told you about how much he loved cars and how he always looked forward to his dad teaching him new stuff about them on his spare time.

“He has this _awesome_ black, 1967 Chevy Impala,” Dean exclaimed as his hands waved around in the air. You shared his enthusiasm, disregarding the fact that you weren’t a fan of cars and couldn’t tell one apart from the other except for the basic models. “And he’s always letting me look under the hood, explaining to me the parts and how everything works! He also told me that when I turned 18, he’s going to give it to me. But of course, I have to show him that I’ll be responsible,” Dean said with a sigh, rolling his eyes as you laughed softly at his exasperation.

He turned towards you with wide, green eyes and nudged your arm. “What about you? What do you like to do? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“I am actually an only child,” you answered. Dean grimaced and you couldn’t help but to chuckle. “It’s not bad, actually. I mean, my mom always says that you don’t know what you’re missing when you haven’t had it. I’ve never had a sibling, so it hardly makes a difference for me.”

“But don’t you get bored?” he asked with a wrinkle of his nose.

“I’ve been an only child my whole life,” you answered. “I find ways to entertain myself. I like reading and taking pictures. My dad bought me this cool, polaroid camera and I take pictures of anything I like and find interesting. I am also always at my best friend’s house. So, being an only child isn’t as bad as it seems.”

“I see,” he nodded slowly.

“Five minutes left!” Mrs. Paulson said in a screeching voice.

“Alright, let’s write our facts down!” Dean said in a business tone. “You are an only child, you like photography, and…” he drawled out before pausing to look at you.

“Reading, I like reading,” you replied with a smile.

“Yes! You like reading,” he made a show of placing a period at the end of the word and slammed the pencil on the desk. “All set. What do you got?” he leaned into you and peeked at your paper.

“Uh, you have a little brother named Sammy and you like cars,” you said, pointing out at numbers one and two. “ _Oh_! And you’re going to own a black car when you turn 18.”

“Not just _any_ car, Y/N,” Dean said, offended as you laughed. “It’s a 1967 Chevy Impala, it’s a classic.”

“You actually want me to write out the model of the car?” you asked with a snort.

“Yes! Every detail, that’s my baby!”

“Wow.”

“Shut up, just write it,” he grumbled, making you cackle quite loudly at him. The both of you ended up laughing until Mrs. Paulson made everyone be quiet and the introductions began.

Just as you promised Dean, after the first day of school, you took him to the town’s ‘haunted’ lake. Your best friend, Tesla, accompanied you, along with Kevin and Charlie, two other close friends of yours.

The five of you ended up throwing each other into the lake with only Tesla standing by the shore, claiming she didn’t want to catch a cold. “Wimp!” you screeched at her as you swam away from Kevin and Dean, who were in the middle of a wrestling match.

“The water’s cold and my mom will kill me if she sees me coming back home all wet,” she glared at you.

“Oh, come on, Tesla,” you said, pouting up at her. “Get in!”

“No, I’ll just wait here,” she said with a smile, holding up a book she had retrieved from her backpack. “My advanced English teacher assigned us a book to read already, so I want to get started!”

“Nerd.”

“Shut up, geek,” she stuck her tongue out at you. You smiled affectionately at her as she dug her nose into the book before turning around. Dean emerged from the water with a roar and you screamed as he began to chase you around.

A few hours later had you saying goodbye to Tesla, Kevin, and Charlie. In the middle of a crossroads, you realized that you lived close to Dean and the two of you decided to walk together. Tesla left you with a promise that you’d go over the next day and briefly hugged you before joining the other two.

As you walked home, you told Dean about the town, making sure to include the creepy urban legends and how the townspeople were quite superstitious. He rolled his eyes and shared your same belief that none of that existed and it was all in people’s minds.

You arrived to your house first and he waved at you until you had closed the front door. You peeked out the window and smiled briefly as you saw him walk away. Your blissful moment was soon interrupted by a scream.

“Young lady! How dare you come in all wet?” your mom stood at the foot of the staircase, hands on her hips and a stern expression placed firmly on her face. “Look at you! All dirty and sopping. Go get cleaned up right now! We’re having dinner in half an hour.”

“Yes, mom,” you said, holding back the urge to roll your eyes.

“And then you can tell me all about your first day of school!”

“Okay!”

* * *

Dean rapidly became an essential part of your school and social life, integrating himself easily into your daily routine and soon you walked to school with him every day. After classes, you’d usually hang out by the lake with him, Tesla, Kevin, and Charlie, doing homework and helping each other out with subjects you each found difficult.

You began to share almost everything with him until you were pretty sure Dean knew you better than you knew yourself. You often had dinner at his house, enjoying the warm presence of his mom and the joviality of his younger brother. Sam was enthusiastic in everything he did, coaxing you to play any game he wanted until Dean had to basically pry you away from Sam in order to spend some time with you.

You got to see Dean helping his dad out with his 1967 Chevy Impala and took many of your afternoon naps draped on the backseat of the car. Pretty soon, you had heard so much about the vehicle that even you called it ‘baby’ and nothing else. Dean was elated at this and you could only shake your head at his obsession with the car.

The one thing you never shared with Dean was your crush on him. It seemed that the more you got to know him, the more you fell and soon you came to believe that you’d never stop loving him. He seemed to not have a clue about how you felt and you preferred to keep it that way. You’d be absolutely mortified if he ever found out about your infatuation and never uttered a word to anyone about it, not even Tesla.

As the years rolled by, Dean became handsome and grew into his skin comfortably. Almost all the girls in school chased after him, but you beamed proudly at the realization that he always stuck to your side instead of paying mind to them.

You also began to change and soon, Dean had to glare at the boys that approached you and tried to flirt with you. Even though Dean himself didn’t make a move on you, you never tried to stop him from chasing them away. You didn’t really want to date anyone and instead became focused on your photography.

Most of the photographs you took included Dean. Sometimes Tesla would pose, but she’d hate the way she came out, even though you and Dean tried to convince her otherwise. Yet Dean proudly stood in a silly pose as you took picture after picture of him until the three of you were laughing hysterically on the ground as you scrolled through them.

You unexpectedly found yourself distant from Dean when he began to chase after the head cheerleader of your school when you were close to finishing your eighth grade. She was one of the girls that had been pining after him and eagerly accepted his advances. Soon, you began to avoid Dean because he always had Lisa around him, hanging of his arm and laughing shrilly at whatever joke he made.

Dean didn’t know what to make of your absence, choosing to be angry at your nonchalant attitude towards him. He asked Tesla what was going on, but Tesla knew better than to tell Dean anything about how you had cried to her in regards to your waning friendship. After a week, you were brushing past each other in the hallway without sharing a word. Your heart clenched painfully every time you saw him kiss Lisa and Tesla would quickly drag you away and into another part of the school where Dean was absent.

Lisa ended up dumping a broken-hearted Dean for the new kid, a foreign exchange student from Italy that spoke in a haughty drawl and looked at Dean with disdain. Dean dragged his feet as he walked home that day and wasn’t really surprised when he found himself in front of your house.

“I’ll get it!” you announced as you descended the stairs, having just hanged up on Tesla. You gasped as you opened the door and recognized a sulking Dean in front of you.

“H-Hi,” he waved sheepishly.

“What are you doing here?” you said harshly, crossing your arms and glaring at him. By now, Dean was much taller than you, but he felt utterly small in that very moment.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“What?”

“I’m sorry, Y/N! I was so stupid to think that Lisa could come between us and I miss you! And I hope that you can forgive be for being an idiot,” he said as he looked up at you with doe-like eyes. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“Come on,” you rolled your eyes at him, pulling him inside by the sleeve of his jacket.

“Please forgive me,” he said as he moved closer to you until you could see every freckle dotted on his skin. You felt your heartbeat speed up as he wrapped his arms around you, embracing you tightly. Slowly, your arms rose to wrap around his waist and you let your body fully relax in his hold. Dean pressed his nose into your hair and inhaled, closing his eyes and whispering apologies into your neck.

After a few minutes, you pulled away from him with a smile. “Wanna go to the lake?”

“Yeah,” he replied.

You ran towards your favorite hideout spot, hands intertwined and breath short. You collapsed next to him on the shoreline and shared the briefest of smiles before Dean was moving to hover above you.

You made to pull back from him but the ground was beneath you and there was nowhere else to move. Dean flicked away a strand of hair from your face and leaned down. His lips were soft and tasted of pecans. Your heart beat wildly in your chest as Dean tangled your legs with his and deepened the kiss. Your imagination could have never done this kiss justice, it was perfect.

Minutes later, Dean pulled away and dazedly smiled at you, thumbing your cheek softly. “Sorry, you just looked really pretty just now.”

“It’s okay,” you said, voice raspy from the kiss. You rested your hand on the nape of his neck and brought him down to you once again.

The following day, you walked into school with Dean, holding hands and sharing occasional glances. Tesla made as if she was about to say something as her eyes looked at Dean suspiciously, but then she looked at you. You seemed so happy that she didn’t wish to be the rain on your parade and decided to remain quiet.

“So, you and Dean, huh?” she questioned you as soon as she had some alone time.

“I know,” you said, sighing dreamily. “Isn’t it awesome?”

“No, he and Lisa were an item just yesterday,” Tesla said.

“He told me he really didn’t like her, that he liked me.”

“Are you sure you’re not his rebound, Y/N?” Tesla asked worriedly.

“I’m positive, Tes, relax,” you said, embracing her tightly.

She didn’t seem satisfied, but left the subject alone, returning to study her math notes. You followed her example and only emerged from your study bubble when Dean tapped his knuckles on the table and called for your attention.

* * *

You turned 15 and 16 with Dean next to you. He was your first everything, and you shared almost every moment of every day with each other. People became accustomed to seeing the both of you together until it turned into a rarity to spot one of you without the other.

Unsurprisingly, you were the first one to say “I love you.” Dean seemed momentarily floored by your declaration, but quickly shook off his stupor and kissed you fervently, whispering the words back to you so you’d be the only one to hear them the first time.  

You cocooned yourself in his company and began to make plans of your future that included Dean as a definite part of your life. He seemed to be equally eager to do the same and sat down with you for hours at a time to discuss what you’d do whenever graduation came along. He promised that he’d buy you a house by the sea, where you could take photographs to your heart’s content while he worked at the local hospital, due to his dream of being a doctor.

Your world was shattered when one lazy, Saturday afternoon, right after you finished your sophomore year of high school, Dean declared he was moving.

“What? Why?” you asked, struggling to comprehend what was happening.

“My dad got a promotion,” Dean said sadly. “He’s moving all of us next week.”

“But, but no,” you shook your head. “You’re supposed to stay here and we’re supposed to graduate and move in together and—”

Dean cupped your face in his hands and kissed you deeply, cutting off your words. He put all his affection into the kiss and you melted in his arms. When he pulled away, he was wearing a goofy smile. “I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of kissing you,” he said.

You grinned before his words came crashing back to you. You felt the tears stinging at your eyes and dug your face into his chest, your fingers grappling at the hem of his shirt to pull him close to you. “You can’t leave, Dean.”

“Hey, hey, we’ll keep in touch,” he said, kissing your temple. “We will always talk on the phone and you can come visit us for half of the summer, and I can come spend the other half here. We’ll make this work, Y/N. I promise.”

It took a bit of convincing from his part to get you to sufficiently calm down. Dean spent the rest of the day with you, his fingers threading loosely through your hair until you had fallen asleep with your head on his shoulder.

A week later and you had to say goodbye to Dean. You pulled him close to you, inhaling as much of his scent as you could, engraving everything about him that you possibly could. Dean’s arms wounded tightly around you and for a moment it hurt how hard he was squeezing, but you let him hold you until his dad had to come pry him off you.

You waved at him until that 1967 Black Chevy Impala turned the corner and sped out of your life, out of the world you had constructed with Dean over the last five years. You slept over Tesla’s house that night, her pillows muffling your cries as your best friend pulled you close to her and tried to comfort you as best she could.

* * *

The first few weeks of your long-distance relationship were easy. He called you and you called him, you shared laughs and you whispered words of longing to each other. You told him about your days, empty without him and he told you of how much he hated the new town.

“Everyone’s so boring here, Y/N,” he said.

“That’s what you said about our town,” you laughed. “It’ll be fine. You’ll make friends in no time!”

And then, the calls came at a less frequency. Most of your calls to him went unanswered and you gave up on leaving voicemails once the operator had announced it was full. He’d return them once a week, claiming he was too busy with an exciting, new job. You were happy for him, you had to be. After all, you had to play the role of a supportive girlfriend, but it soon dawned on you that you had lost Dean. You stopped calling him and eventually, you began to mend your broken heart.

* * *

You graduated high school holding Tesla’s hand, making plans of the future with her and excitedly squealing about all the things you’d do together. She made good on her promises as you both moved into a loft together and attended the same University. Tesla decided to major in English Literature while you focused on the hobby that had soon become your passion: photography.

It soon became clear to your professors that you were more than adept in your major, you were extremely talented and they began to offer you jobs and gigs that soon gave you prominence in the field. You soon found yourself traveling the world, photographing breathtaking views of nature, but also being hired to snapshot models in high-end photoshoots that had your name going from mouth to mouth in the fashion industry.

You were quickly to climb the ladder until you had reached the top by the time you turned 24. You were one of the most coveted photographers in the industry and designers paid you loads of money to be able to get the perfect shot. You knew how to work any model, any set given to you, and even knew what to accentuate in each outfit. You knew the ins and outs quite thoroughly.

At the same time that you were gaining fame, you were also getting to know a rising journalist name Castiel. He was the definition of charisma and good looks, his blue eyes intense and his smile breathtaking. You first met him when you were being interviewed by him for a segment about young, successful people in the fashion industry and found yourself enraptured by his personality.

He was equally infatuated by you and asked you out for dinner that same night. He made you laugh until you had to beg him to stop in order to take a breath. He made you feel comfortable in the silences that sometimes reigned over you both. He was everything you could have ever wanted and you found yourself falling in love with him as time progressed.

Two years after dating, you were touring Venice with him when in the middle of a crowded plaza and a dozen cameras, Cas got on one knee and pulled out a black, velvet box from his pocket. He smiled up at you and declared his eternal love for you.

“Will you marry me, Y/N?” he asked.

“Yes! Yes!” you jumped excitedly as he got on his feet. You kissed him before pulling away and letting him slip the ring unto your finger, tears threatening to brim over at the emotions flooding your chest.

“She said yes!” Cas screamed into the camera, smile wider than you had ever seen it since you had met him.

You returned to your hometown sporting the large engagement ring, becoming the object of envy and gossip amongst the townspeople. You disregarded their whispered words and side-eyed looks as you walked through the main street holding Cas’ hand and talking animatedly with your mom about the plans you had for your wedding.

Eventually, you had to go back to work and you were more than excited to hear from GQ Magazine, requesting of you to photograph a male model that had risen to stardom in the acting field as well. You accepted their offer and the following week had you preparing everything for the shoot.

The helping hands that the magazine had hired were more than helpful as the shuffled things around for you and soon you were satisfied with the set splayed out before you.

“Alright, where’s our guy?” you asked the magazine’s editor.

“He’s coming right out, Y/N,” he said, shooting you a wide smile. “Dean, are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m coming! Sorry,” the model replied. You wanted to roll your eyes at how long he took, but understood that he was probably getting his outfit to fit just right and his makeup touched up. You began to look over the set, making sure everything was in place before there was a light tap on your shoulder.

“Y/N, this is Dean,” the editor said. “Dean, this is Y/N Y/L/N, one of the best photographers in the business!”

You choked on the water you had been drinking and held yourself back from spitting it out, clapping your hand on your chest as you tried to regain control of your breathing. Before you stood a grown-up Dean, green eyes just as surprised to see you.

“Y/N?” he said in exclamation. “Y/N, is it really you?”

“Dean!” you forced yourself to smile despite your throat trying to cough out the water that had gone down the wrong pipe. After coughing for a few moments, you finally straightened up and held out your hand for Dean. “Hi, nice to see you again—”

You found yourself being embraced tightly by arms you hadn’t felt in more than seven years.


	2. Chapter 2

“I take it that you two know each other,” the editor remarked, smiling widely. “Great! I trust that this project is in good hands, I must be going now.”

Without another second to spare, the man was out of the room as you pulled yourself away from Dean’s embrace. You could feel yourself smiling widely and a part of you wanted to reach out and touch his face, make sure it was really him. Then you heard the shuffling of feet around you and remembered that you had company. You opted to clear your throat.

“So, a model, huh?” you said with a soft laugh. “Never quite thought you’d ended up choosing this career path.”

“I know, neither did I,” Dean said with a grin. “But you and photography… Now that one I could have seen coming from a mile away.”

“How’d you even get in modeling anyway?”

“I was at a mall with friends, an agent came up to me. She said I had the looks for it and here I am. It hasn’t been easy, though.”

“I bet,” you raised a brow. “But the pain is worth it, you’ve made it quite big.”

“Yes, it’s great now,” he said, glancing around the set.

“I’m glad, Dean,” you said sincerely before turning on your heels and clapping your hands. “Alright, guys, I take it everything is ready, let’s get started.”

The photoshoot went smoothly, Dean was easy to work with and you had gotten the shots you wanted in less than fifty frames. You ordered everyone to begin clearing things out and sat in front of your laptop to narrow down your choices of pictures. You couldn’t help yourself, you smiled as you went through each picture, took Dean’s facial features. He had changed so much, yet in his eyes you could still see the teenager you had loved desperately.

“Hey.”

You jumped, startled out of your reminiscing and glared at the man sitting down next to you. “Jesus, you scared me. Don’t do that.”

“Sorry,” Dean said with a grin. “Just thought I’d let you know that everyone’s done and starting to head out.”

“And you’re not among them?” you asked with a raised brow.

“I wanted to ask you if you wanted to grab a few drinks, catch up with each other.”

“And risk people seeing us in public together?” you said with a snort. “Not going to happen, Dean.”

“Why? Do you have a boyfriend?”

“A _fiancée_ , actually. And yes, he’d mind if I went out for drinks with an ex of mine,” you said, closing your laptop.

“I think he’d understand, it’s just a few drinks, Y/N,” Dean said with a sigh.

“I’ll see you around, Dean,” you looked up at him with a soft smile, picking up your bag. Without another word, you turned around and exited the vast room.

“Take care, then,” Dean murmured.

* * *

“Hey,” you were surprised to see Cas sitting on the living room, sipping on a cup of wine, shuffling through the television channels. “How come you’re here so early? I thought you were working late tonight.”

“I was, but then Jess said I needed to spend some time with you,” he said, getting on his feet and pulling you close, pressing a chaste kiss on your lips. “She said she’d take care of gathering everything up for the report tomorrow. Gave us the night off.”

“Jess, always so selfless,” you said with a laugh. Jess was Cas’ co-host in a daily show viewed across the nation. They were both prolific at what they did and for that, they had made it to the big leagues in no time. They worked splendidly together and through Jess you had met Cas. You felt that you sort of owed her your happiness.

“She misses you, actually,” Cas said softly as he rubbed his palms up and down your arms. “Says you haven’t had lunch with her and Tesla in a while.”

“I was going to call them tonight, tell them if they wanted to grab some drinks,” you said truthfully. “But now that you’re here, I think I’ll see if they want to hang out tomorrow.”

“She’ll say yes, our segment ends by noon and I’ll owe her from taking all the brunt of the work tonight.”

“Then it’s set,” you said excitedly, pulling away from him to grab at your cell phone and sending text messages to both Tesla and Jess. “We’ll have lunch tomorrow. I have tons to—Oh, I forgot to tell you!” Cas tilted his head as you spoke, prompting you to smile widely at this gesture. It was one of your favorite things about him. He almost looked like an angel with those wide blue eyes and puzzled expression.

“Guess who I ran into,” you continued.

“Uh, Versace?” he joked.

“Oh, come on, don’t play,” you laughed softly. “If I did, I’d probably be begging you to take me to an asylum. No, I ran into Dean, Dean Winchester.”

“As in your high school sweetheart, Dean?” Cas asked, his brow furrowed.

“That’s the one.”

“Oh, that’s great?”

“It’s—It’s wonderful! I mean, I haven’t seen him in forever and to see him today,” you paused, shaking your head. “It meant a lot to see him.”

“You’re not developing feelings for him, now, are you?” Cas wrapped arms around your waist and placed his chin on your shoulder.

“No, don’t be ridiculous,” you said with a scoff and a roll of your eyes. Your hands came to rest on his intertwined ones on your stomach. “It was just exciting to see him after all these years, know that he was alright. He just kind of disappeared on me.”

“I’m glad you got to see him, then,” Cas said before kissing your cheek. You were making to say more when he cut you off. “I took the liberty of ordering Chinese takeout from the place a block away, it’ll be here any minute now. You must be starving.”

“Yeah, it was a hectic day,” you nodded.

“Why don’t you go take a shower while we wait for the food?” Cas pulled away from you and picked up his wine glass, taking a generous sip from it. “It’ll be waiting for you when you come out.”

“Will do,” you said with one last smile, making your way to the bedroom.

You tried not to be disappointed by Cas’ lack of reaction to the news of Dean. You had been expecting him to be eager to know more, even jealous. Then again, he hadn’t been around when Dean and you had been together. Dean had helped shaped the woman you had become.  And even though he had gone MIA all of a sudden, you couldn’t deny the elatedness you felt when you had laid eyes on him. It was a relief to see him doing well, to do something he was good at and succeed in it the way he was doing so.

After your shower, you put on a pair of your favorite pajamas and joined Cas in the living room. The evening was spent feeding each other Chinese food and laughing at cheesy soap operas, one of your favorite past times with him. You fell asleep with your head on his shoulder and didn’t feel him carrying you to the room. The next morning, you woke up to a note on the bed and a promise to have dinner at your favorite restaurant.

* * *

“You’re late,” you glared at Tesla as she sat across from you and next to Jess.

“Yeah, well, when one of my writers doesn’t contact me after two weeks, I try to do everything I can to get in touch with them,” Tesla said with a sarcastically sweet smile. “Even if it means being late to lunch with my best friends.”

“The woman has news and we’ve been waiting for you,” Jess said dramatically. “I’ve been trying to pry it out of her but not even Cas told me this morning.”

“That’s because I told Cas that I wanted to be the one to tell you,” you smiled at an impatient Jess.

“Alright, alright, I’m here, what do you have to tell us?” Tesla urged. “Wait, before you do, did you order my food?” she began to look around for the waiter.

“Yes, woman,” Jess said with a roll of her eyes and a note of exasperation. “We ordered you exactly what you wanted. It’ll be here with the rest of our order.”

“We don’t call ourselves your best friends for nothing,” you said with a teasing wink.

“You guys are the best,” she squealed softly. “Okay, okay, sorry, what did you have to say to us, Y/N? Is it about that photo shoot yesterday? You were quite excited about it.”

“Actually it is,” you said, the corners of your lips beginning to pull up in a wide grin. “And I ran into someone?”

“Oh, was it Chris Evans? Please tell me you shot with him, please,” Tesla pouted, wringing her hands together in a signal of begging.

“No, it wasn’t Chris Evans,” you rolled your eyes. “But if it had been, I wouldn’t have waited to tell you until today. I would have called you the moment he walked out to the set.”

“Very true,” she said. “Proceed with your story.”

“I ran into Dean Winchester…” you paused with suspense.

Tesla slammed her hand on the table, brown eyes wide and mouth agape. “D-Dean Winchester, as in the Dean we knew when we were kids and you dated and loved and—”

“Yes, _that_ Dean,” you said with an eager nod of your head. “He was the model I was shooting with.”

“No fucking way,” Jess said in disbelief. “How’d that go?”

Even though Jess hadn’t known you since you were in middle and high school, you had taken a few classes with her in college and she quickly became close friends with you and Tesla. The three of you wreaked havoc in campus whenever you managed to convince Tesla to loosen up and risk getting in trouble. But Jess was cunning enough to avoid authorities and it was mischief you got away with and enjoyed.

Jess also knew about Dean. You had told her everything when the anniversary of your relationship rolled around and she had noticed the sadness in your eyes. She went to Tesla first, asking her what was going on with you, but she had only directed her to you. “Y/N should be the one to tell you what happened.” You told her everything, while crying and wasting a box of tissues in the process.

“It went _well_ ,” you said, not being able to contain your small smile. “He is great at his job and it was a relief to see him, see that he’s doing wonderfully. I may have gotten over him, but I always worried about how he was faring. It was nice being able to see his talent firsthand, he’s incredible at what he does. I got the shots I wanted in less than half an hour. That must have been some kind of record.”

“How did he react after seeing you?” Tesla leaned forward curiously.

“He was happy to see me, we hugged briefly,” you answered, smiling at the waiter as he began to bring the food to the table.

“That’s it?” Jess inquired with a scoff. “That couldn’t have been it, Y/N.”

“He asked me out for drinks after the shoot,” you confessed. “Said he wanted to catch up. But, you know how it is. Cas’ fiancée out for a drink with a famous model… the scandal it’d cause.”

“So you said no,” Tesla said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Of course I said no!” you said, voice rising. “I can’t just lollygag across the streets with Dean in tow. People will start asking questions and I value my job, I value Cas’ job. I don’t want drama.”

“I see where you’re coming from,” Tesla nodded. “Okay, no drinks with Dean.”

“I just wanted to tell you guys that I was happy to see him,” you said, voice becoming quieter as you finished your sentence. You cringed and smiled embarrassedly. “I made a bigger deal out of this than it was.”

“Are you kidding me?” Jess scoffed, smiling widely. “I get how this is a big deal, Y/N! I mean, if I had run into my ex, I’d have told you guys, especially _the_ ex I wanted to spend my life with.”

“You’re right,” you gave Jess a grateful beam. “It’s not anything romantic, it’s just… he meant a lot to me. It means a lot to me that he’s doing good in life.”

“I understand,” Tesla leaned over and squeezed your hand, smiling softly. “I’m glad to know he’s doing good.”

“Thanks.”

Her face turned serious suddenly. “But don’t screw things up with Cas! You two are perfect for each other!”

“I won’t,” you said with a soft laugh. “Cas is the man I want to marry, nothing will make me change my mind.”

“Good,” Tesla said with a stern smile.

“Weren’t you the one disappointed that I didn’t have drinks with Dean though?” you asked her with a raise of your brow and a smirk.

“He was my friend, too!” Tesla said in defense. “I would have loved to chat with him! You weren’t the only one who missed him when he left, Y/N.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” you said, sending her an apologetic smile.

“Now, on to the fashion show you have in a week!” Jess exclaimed. “What are you going to wear?”

* * *

“Y/N, twice in a week, I must say that I suspect you’re following me,” Dean’s voice made you turn your head and meet his eyes.

“Yes, because I don’t have better things to do, nor a job to perform,” you rolled your eyes, but still smiled widely. Dean leaned down to kiss your cheek and briefly embraced you.

“I take it you’re here for the connections as well,” he glanced around at the after party. There were more than five hundred people in the tent, how Dean had found you…

“Were you looking for me?” you asked. “There’s a lot of people here, you couldn’t have found me unless you were actively searching for me.”

“I wasn’t at first, to be honest,” he replied, sitting down next to you on a barstool. “But then I heard someone say your name. Then, I had to look for you. How can I pass up a chance to talk to you?”

“You had a few, but you did pass them up, don’t you remember?”

“Y/N, that was a long time ago,” Dean sighed.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right,” you waved him away, gulping down the last of your liquor. “That was uncalled for,” you smiled. “How’s the family?”

Dean’s demeanor automatically shifted, a grin upturning his lips. “They’re great! Dad opened up a garage and Mom helps him run it, does the numbers and all of that.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” you said sincerely. “How’s Sam?”

“He’s in law school,” Dean answered with an affectionate expression. “He’s the top of his class and is even planning on getting engaged with his girlfriend. Everything’s good. How are things on your end?”

“Wonderful!” you answered. “Parents are still working, minimally though. I don’t want them to grow tired when I can prevent that. I’m doing good, one of the best paid photographers in the business and a loving fiancée. I’m happy.”

“I’m glad you are,” Dean said, smiling softly. “Oh, how’s Tesla? I miss that squirt.”

“She’s not that much of a squirt anymore,” you snorted. “Girl’s climbed the ladder and is one of the head editors of a publishing company.”

“Good to hear, good to hear,” Dean said.

He was going to say something else when a drawling voice interrupted. “Darlings, here you are! And talking with each other! Oh, splendid.”

You turned on your chair to meet the eyes of the editor-in-chief of one of the most famous high fashion magazines in the business, automatically smiling at her despite your surprise. She leaned forward and gave a kiss to each of your cheeks before doing the same to Dean.

“I’d like to discuss a new project I have in mind. I am just lucky that the both of you already know each other!” she exclaimed with an excited wave of her hands.

Dean and you ended up saying yes to her, agreeing to have the contracts sent to your respective offices to be looked over and signed. You couldn’t quite deny her your services, after all, her opinion of you mattered if you wanted to be someone and if this shoot went well, you’d be held in her high regards. She set the date for the following week and disappeared right after the arrangements had been made.

“Well, guess we’ll be seeing more of each other, then,” Dean winked as he got up from his seat.

“Guess so,” you smiled back as he was called to join another conversation. When he glanced your way again, you were gone.

* * *

“Am I reading this right?” you poked Tesla’s shoulder, shoving the paper into her disgruntled face.

“Ouch! That hurt! I’m busy,” she protested.

“Shut up and read this,” you pointed at the sheet. “Please tell me it doesn’t say ‘nude’ there.”

She scanned the paper before nodding her head. “It definitely says nude here.”

“No, no, no,” you muttered.

“What’s wrong?” she laughed. “You do nude photo shoots all the time, it’s never fazed you.”

“Well, because my models haven’t been Dean fucking Winchester,” you remarked.

Tesla choked on her saliva. “W-What? Dean Winchester? You’re shooting with Dean?”

“Tesla, what am I going to do?” you said in a whiney voice.

“You’re going to do your job,” she answered without a second thought, prompting a wide-eye look from you. “What? It’s true. You have no other choice; you have to shoot with him. Plus, it’s not something you haven’t seen before. Only this time, it’ll be mature and improved,” she waggled her eyebrows.

“You’re unbelievable,” you shoved her and she laughed as she collapsed on the arm of the couch.

“Tell me how that goes,” she smirked. “Every last detail.”

“I’m dreading this already.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Take the pictures as fast as you can, avoid eye contact, and get out of there. Voila! It’s over.”

“Let me reiterate what I just told you,” you scoffed. “It’s easy for you to say. You won’t be staring at—at his junk!”

“I thought those shoots weren’t necessarily nude?” she raised a brow. “Don’t they give the model a cock sock and then strategically place objects around his groin?”

“I’ll still have to—I’ll still have to stare at him, it’s going to be so awkward,” you groaned, rubbing your temples with the tips of your fingers.

* * *

You kept your eyes away from Dean, making sure every piece of equipment was correctly placed and directing the lights just the way you wanted them. You knew the makeup artists were getting him ready for the shoot and you tried your best to control your breathing and facial expressions.

“Ma’am,” a shy voice interrupted your thoughts and you jumped out of instinct. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Just wanted to let you know we’re finished setting everything up and that we’ll be going.”

“Going? Going where?” you turned to the young intern.

“Uh, well I thought you were informed,” she squeaked nervously.

“Informed of what?” you asked with narrowed eyes.

“Mr. Winchester doesn’t want anyone in the room except him and you,” she said.

“What?” you couldn’t help your outburst. “What do you mean only him and me in the room?”

“It was one of his prerequisites for doing this shoot. He said he didn’t want anyone else staring at him while he did his job.”

“Oh, God,” you pinched the bridge of your nose, feeling a headache looming over you.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the girl nodded her head before backing away.

You took a few deep breaths before approaching Dean, who was clad in a robe. You guessed there was nothing beneath it.

“You’re making everyone leave?” you said, scoffing as you crossed your arms over your chest.

“Yeah, I just thought it would be give me more breathing room,” he shrugged. “Is that a problem?” he raised a challenging brow at you.

“Y-Yeah, it is! I need people to change the lighting for me and—”

“I was told that they wanted these pictures to be authentic, raw, and barely touched,” he said with a smirk. “I think we’ll manage without these people.”

“But—”

“It’ll be fine. I promise I will be on my best behavior,” Dean winked.

“Dean—”

“Would you relax?” he laughed softly, moving closer to you and resting his hands on your upper arms. You glared up at him in defiance and bit back a retort. “I think we’ll get this done fast. Maybe our bodies haven’t forgotten how the other works. And like I said, best behavior. Your fiancée is not someone I wanna mess with after all.”

He moved away from you and took off his robe, settling on an array of blankets the designers had prepared on an old bed. “Oh, soft blankets,” he remarked. “But clumpy mattress.”

You closed your eyes and looked away from him, taking your camera with shaking hands. The thought of this taking longer than it should crossed your mind as you turned and brought the device up to your eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean was the definition of imperfections coming together to form perfection, there was no other way to describe him. He had scars, freckles, and fading tattoos you knew he had acquired when drunk, by friends who dreamed of being tattoo artists. You had cringed when you had first seen them and now you saw why, they were horrendous. But somehow, Dean made them all work as he moved his limbs fluidly in the directions you guided him with your words.

He seemed nervous at first, the way he tried not to fidget, stiff and almost robotic. But soon, he realized you were being a complete professional and he soon guised himself of professionalism and began to perform his job. You took shots from every angle, controlling yourself to not stare too much at the soft skin that encased strong muscles and the tantalizing way he seemed to move himself whenever he assumed a new position. Dean had grown up quite nicely, no longer the cute boy you had grown up with.

The only sound in the set was the clicking of the camera as you continued doing your job. After an hour, longer than you thought you’d take, you sighed and prepared yourself for your next suggestion.

“I-I’m going to get on the bed, stand over you,” you said breathlessly, your voice almost a whisper. You feared he hadn’t heard you, but the room was too quiet. You knew he had.

He cleared his throat and nodded. “Okay, you want me on my back?”

“Yeah, I’m going to just take a few shots of you from the chest up,” you said softly as you climbed on the mattress, getting on your feet. “Put an arm under your head, and give the camera—”

“Bedroom eyes,” he snickered.

“Y-yeah,” you said with a chuckle, assuming position standing over Dean, your feet on either side of him. You were getting ready to begin taking the pictures when you cleared your throat, motioning up at your own hair. “C-Can you tousled it up a bit? You’re in bed, not in a gala.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah,” Dean said with a soft laugh, fingers threading through his neat locks until they were messy.

You smiled in satisfaction. “Perfect,” you muttered before catching yourself. You gulped and tried to school in your expression at having called Dean that so blatantly. Before saying anything to make it worse, you continued to take pictures.

Dean followed your directions, he gave the camera smoldering eyes as you took shots. You tried not to focus on how beautiful he looked, how breathtaking the pictures were sure to be if you just left them untouched and handed them in like that. Instead, you continued to take the pictures, bending your legs here and there to get different angles.

You stepped on a rather deep indent in the mattress and your ankle bended. You flailed your arms to try to regain your balance as your camera flew from your hands. But you were always precautious about that, having bought a strap that you placed around your neck. The camera was safe, but you continued to try to stand upright to no avail.

Dean’s hands came up to grasp your calves, forcefully folding your knees to collapse on top of him instead of on the ground. You fell with a huff, your hands landing on either side of his head as his fingers held on to your waist.

The air was infused with thick tension as you stuttered an apology, having nowhere else to look but those green eyes you had looked into countless times when professing an endless love. Dean seemed to be trying to process everything as well and you were about to begin moving away from him when you felt him squeeze his hold on you.

One second you were looking into his eyes. The other, your lips were molding against his as he kissed you fervently and with hunger manifesting itself after years of having been tucked far away. You responded in kind, your lips parting to let his tongue delve into your mouth, trace familiar places that had you pressing yourself downwards, feeling his bare skin against your clothed body.

His hands threaded through your hair as he pressed you closer to him. You couldn’t breathe from the force of the kiss, but it felt as if you had finally taken a deep breath after so many years. Your body craved Dean in ways you could never understand, in ways you didn’t want to understand right now. The warmth that his hands and kisses produced spread throughout you, touching ever fiber and nerve and you felt yourself give in.

The sock they had placed around his groin did nothing to conceal the effects you were having on Dean and upon feeling him pressing against the crux of your thighs, you moaned loudly into Dean’s open mouth. His eyes snapped opened and his hands went down to your shoulders, forcefully pushing you away. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry, Y/N,” he said breathlessly, guilt lacing through his words. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

The haze you were in dissipated, leaving guilt and regret behind. You clamped your eyes shut and rubbed at them with the heels of your hands, trying to turn back time with the sheer force of your will. But it was futile, your lips still tingled from Dean’s kisses and your skin still burned from his touch. “Fuck,” you murmured. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! FUCK!” your voice rose with each expletive as you clambered off the mattress. Your knees hit the floor.

“It’s okay, i-it’s okay,” Dean’s voice surrounded you as he embraced your trembling frame. You shook your head and wrenched yourself away from him.

“Don’t touch me! Get away from me!” you screeched, tears streaming down your cheeks.

“Y/N…” Dean’s whispered, voice pleading.

“Get out!”

Dean’s steps faded after a few minutes as you staggered back to your feet, hands shaking as guilt overwhelmed your every sense. There was only one person you wanted to see right now.

* * *

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you okay?” Tesla knelt in front of you as you crumpled to your knees before her front door.

“I did something,” you cried, pulling Tesla close to you, burying your face in her neck and letting the sobs you had been holding back on your drive to her house out.

“What did you do?” she demanded, grasping a firm hold of your shoulders. She began to pull you away from her, to be able to look into your face, but you held on, cried out your desperation in her hair. Cas had been the best thing that had happened to you, you loved him, not Dean. Dean had abandoned you, Dean had broken you, had left you high and dry. Cas had unknowingly picked up the broken pieces and had seamlessly put you back together with tender words and touches that you needed. But Dean’s touches were the ones you _yearned_ for and that made a world of a difference.

“No,” you murmured. “No, no, no, no, I can’t think like this.”

“Think like what? Y/N, tell me what’s going on,” she asked as she succeeded in pulling you away and cupped your face.

“I-I… I c-cheated on Cas, I—” you broke out into sobs again. You couldn’t help feeling like you were dragging Tesla back into the mud again with you. She had been there with you when Dean had left, she had seen you at your lowest, and tonight wasn’t an exception. You had let Cas down, you had left yourself down, you had let Tesla down.

“What?” Tesla screeched. “With who? Y/N,” she gasped. “Dean. It was with Dean, wasn’t it?”

“God, I was so stupid,” you shut your eyes tightly and shook your head vehemently. “I-I should have said I couldn’t do the photoshoot. I could have prevented all of this. He still holds power over me and I can’t help myself. God, what am I going to do?”

“You’re going to relax,” Tesla brushed hair back from your face and smacked your cheek gently. “You’re going to breathe, we’re going to sit down in my living room and you’re going to drink some water. Come on,” she grunted as she helped you up on your feet, leading you towards her living room and sitting you down on the couch.

“Tesla,” you looked up at her, tears beginning to brim over once again.

“Let me go get water,” she said, smiling softly, stepping out of the room.

The guilt tugged at your heartstrings, making it difficult to breathe. How could you have done this to Cas? You furiously wiped at your tears and smiled weakly as Tesla came back in with a cold glass of water in hand. She handed it to you and took a seat right next to you. Patiently waiting for you to take a sip, she placed a hand on your knee. “You want me to call Jess? Maybe we can both be here?”

“No, Jess works with Cas,” you shook your head. “I trust her, but what if it slips out unknowingly? I can’t risk that. If Cas ever finds out, I want to be the one to tell him.”

“You’re right,” Tesla nodded.

You smiled before slumping your shoulders and resting your head on Tesla’s lap. “What am I going to do, Tes?”

“Well, first, you’re going to forgive yourself,” Tesla spoke as she laced fingers through your hair tenderly. “And then, when you’re ready, you will tell Cas. Dean was very important to you, Y/N. I don’t blame you, you were put in an impossible situation. I highly doubt I wouldn’t have done the same thing you did, reacted in the same way.”

“Don’t try to make me feel better,” you mumbled miserably.

“I’m not, I’m being honest with you,” she said. “What you did with Dean? Well, it was sort of inevitable. But it was a one-time thing. Cas is your fiancée now, he is the man you love.”

“Then why did it feel so good to kiss Dean?”

“Because nostalgia feels amazing when the days long gone are pleasant,” she smiled down at you. “And he’s hot, so there’s that.”

You both laughed together and soon, Tesla had you feeling like yourself again. She had that ability. She knew you inside out and you owed her the world, but the feeling was mutual. You knew things about Tesla not even her own parents did.

You slept over her house that night, calling Cas to let him know where you were and sighing in relief when he seemed relieved to hear from you. “I love you,” he spoke into the phone. “I love you, too, Cas,” you smiled and you knew he’d be waiting for you at home the next day.

* * *

“How was work?” you stepped out of your bedroom to greet Cas with an elated smile and a tight embrace.

“Tiring,” he groaned, pulling you close to him and kissing your lips. “How was yours?”

“Took the day off, spent it sleeping and watching _Friends_ re-runs,” you grinned.

“Lucky,” he chuckled.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner today?” you looked up at him, rubbing your hands up and down his broad back.

“I’d love that, yes!” he said with a wide smile. “Want me to make reservations?”

“Yeah, I’ll get ready,” you pecked his lips before walking back into the bedroom.

An hour later, you held Cas’ hand tightly as you stepped out of the taxicab and into a French bistro. He gave his name to the hostess and she promptly led you both to a table. Your heart stopped as your eyes met emerald green ones, that seemed to bear the same surprise that was surging through you.

“Is something wrong?” Cas questioned you.

“N-No,” you gulped thickly, taking your eyes off of Dean and looking up at Cas. “Just saw someone I knew, but no biggie.”

“Oh, is it the guy coming over here now?” he questioned.

“What?” your head snapped up and you felt yourself wanting to scream. Dean now stood next to Cas, his arm placed firmly around a petite blonde. He smiled politely at Cas as he held his other hand out.

“Hi, I’m Dean Winchester,” he greeted as Cas took his offered hand.

“Oh, good evening!” Cas exclaimed, smiling widely. “Yeah, Y/N here has told me about you. Pleasure to meet you. I’m Castiel Novak.”

“My girlfriend here, Jo Harvelle,” Dean motioned towards the woman next to him, who grinned as she looked Cas up and down. “She’s a big fan of yours. So, I told her I’d introduce ourselves.”

“Hello,” Cas held his hand out for Jo, who looked beside herself in happiness as she shook his hand.

“Wow, it’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Novak,” she said with an excited squeal. “I’m a great admirer of your work. I actually am studying to be a journalist and you’re my role model. It’s such an honor, truly.”

You fidgeted in your seat as Dean kept his eyes on you as his girlfriend chatted with Cas. You could feel him scrutinizing you. But you kept your glance focused on Cas, on how confident and sure of himself he was. He was handsome and you didn’t need anyone else but him.

“Well, we must be going,” Dean’s voice broke through your daze. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Novak,” Dean smiled politely at him. “And it was nice seeing you, Y/N.”

You couldn’t speak, opting to smile and nod your head at him and Ms. Harvelle. Cas finally took a seat after saying his goodbyes and smirked at you.

“He’s not as bad as I thought he’d be,” he said.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes.

* * *

“I am not getting off,” Tesla announced, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel and glaring at both you and Jess. “And from what I recall, it’s your turn to get the coffee,” she looked at you pointedly through the rearview mirror.

“She’s right,” Jess turned around and grinned widely at you. “You know what we both want, so off with you.”

“Fine, fine,” you groaned, sticking out your tongue at the both of them before clambering out of the car. You slammed the door closed and smirked when Tesla screamed at you for doing so.

“It’s brand-new! Watch it!”

“You’ll live,” you remarked back at her before entering the small café.

You were quick to make your order and waited for your drinks by the handout station. You unlocked your phone and began to shuffle through your emails, glad that all of your customers where satisfied with the work you had done. The nude photographs of the shoot you had done last week had been sent to the editor-in-chief, and she expressed her gratitude in a fat check that now sat in your bank account. You smiled to yourself before a shuffling to your right and a clearing of a throat made you look up.

“Hey,” Dean said, smiling softly at you.

“What are you doing here?” you demanded with narrow eyes.

“Waiting for my latte,” he answered, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Then that doesn’t need conversation of any kind,” you brushed him off.

“Oh, come on, Y/N,” he sighed. “I know it was a mistake what we did last week,” he leaned down to speak closer to your ear. “But I was wondering if we could remain friends. I still haven’t seen Tesla and I would love for us to hang out—”

“No. You and I will never be friends, so stay away from me,” you said with finality, glaring up at him as you placed the three drinks on a disposable tray and exited the shop.

You hoped that he wouldn’t follow you out and sighed in relief when you climbed back into the car and looked at the café you had left behind. Dean was still inside.

“What’s up with you?” Jess asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, woman!”

“I—I, I just ran into Dean,” you shrugged.

“Oh, how are things with him, huh?” she winked.

“Stop teasing her, Jess,” Tesla rolled her eyes, nudging Jess back into her seat. She chanced a glance at you from the rearview mirror and you gave her a grateful smile, to which she winked back at you.

“Fine,” Jess rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the coffee, though,” she held her cup in the air before taking a sip and heaving a pleasured sigh. “Nothing like hot coffee in this dreary weather.”

“Tell me about it,” Tesla mumbled moodily. “I want to be back home with a book and my cat.”

“Oh, loosen up, both of you,” you rolled your eyes. “We finally get some time to ourselves to spend it together and you’re both complaining. Shut up.”

The both of them laughed before Tesla was pulling into traffic.

* * *

Cas stepped into the darkened room, shrugging off his coat and hanging it on the rack. He smiled as the lights came on and a woman stepped out of the shadows. “You’re late,” she said, slightly disappointed. But Cas didn’t miss the happiness at seeing him in her voice.

“I’m here, that’s all the matters,” he said, slowly making his way to her.

They met in the middle of the room, embracing each other tightly and kissing one another hungrily, lips seeking out the passion between them. Cas’ threaded fingers through her hair before cupping her face. He peppered her cheeks with kisses and looked down at her affectionately.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

“I’ve missed you, too, Cas,” she said, grabbing the hem of his shirt before quickly tugging it off him. He did the same to her top and they both groaned as their bare skin met. Cas took her right in the middle of the living room, not finding patience in himself to lead her to the bedroom. He held her close as she hit her peak and moaned his pleasure into her mouth, letting her swallow the sounds from his throat.

She got up briefly to turn off the lights before joining him back on the wooden floors. He tucked strands of hairs behind her ear and kissed her forehead.

“Cas…”

“Hmm?”

“Y/N—”

“Dammit, I thought you wouldn’t bring her into the conversation,” Cas groaned, pulling away from her embrace and sitting up, putting his face into his hands.

“I just—I want us to be together, I want to tell the world about us,” she cried out, placing a hand on his back. “I don’t know how long I can take this.”

“Don’t start with that again,” Cas shook his head.

“Right now is the perfect time,” she pleaded.

“What do you mean?”

“Dean Winchester came back into her life,” she said, excitement in her tone. “You know how much Dean means to her. You know that no one can compete with Dean.”

“Y/N loves _me_ , not Dean,” Cas said.

“I-I have a plan,” she gulped thickly. “I know what I’ll do to drive her into his arms.”

* * *

“Hey, Gabe, you have mail,” Michael peeked his head into his co-worker’s cubicle and grinned, tossing the yellow envelope at him.

“Who the hell sends mail nowadays?” Gabe scoffed, but still caught it, quickly opening the package.

“Any idea what it is?”

“No idea, bro,” Gabe shrugged before dropping the envelope’s content on his desk. Michael stepped inside the small space to curiously look as Gabe flipped the photographs. Both men looked at each other with wide eyes.

There were three pictures of Dean Winchester being too close for comfort with Y/N Y/L/N, plus a handwritten letter.

_Dean Winchester and Y/N Y/L/N have been secretly seeing each other for over a month. They’re afraid to come out into the open due to their relationships with Jo Harvelle and Castiel Novak, respectively.  
_ _Sincerely,  
_ _Tesla B._

“Dude, you gotta get this story to Naomi,” Michael scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“This is making front-page news tomorrow,” Gabe said with a cackle. Naomi would be very happy to see this come from him. He could already smell his new office after the promotion he had been waiting for.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey, Y/N, what are you—”

“What is this? What is this, Tesla?” you demanded as you slammed the magazine on top of Tesla’s office desk.

“W-What are you talking—W-Whoa, is that a picture of you and Dean in the front page of—” she stammered.

“Way to go, way to play innocent,” you scoffed.

“W-W-What? Wait, rewind. You think I did this?” Tesla’s voice rose. “I’d never do this to you.”

“Your name was on the paper, on the letter they got,” you pointed to the section where the article had scanned Tesla’s mail. “And it’s your fucking handwriting, Tesla. Don’t tell me otherwise.”

“Have you even heard yourself?” Tesla said, pointing at her own ears. “You sound fucking demented.”

“Oh, now I’m demented,” you laughed humorlessly. “I’ve gone up the ranks. First a cheater, now a demented. At least I’m not a backstabber!”

“You take that back right now!” she pointed at you.

“I don’t take back truths,” you challenged.

Tesla breathed hard through her nostrils, baring her teeth in anger as you smirked at her. “Get out.”

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Get out!”

“Admit it!”

“Security!” she punched at her desk phone.

“You’re so going to regret this, Tesla,” you warned.

“You’re fucking disgusting,” she spat back. You remained glaring at each other until two guards came to forcefully escort you out of the building.

* * *

“Gabriel!” Dean’s voice traveled across the office cubicles, startling the journalists from where they were typing away at their keyboards. “Gabriel, get out here before I find you myself. And I swear, you won’t like me finding you!”

“Sir, you have to calm down,” a man of short stature tried to calm Dean.

“Don’t touch me, or you’re going to regret it,” Dean threatened.

“You know, sweet cheeks, it’s not right to talk to people like that,” a voice that made Dean’s skin crawl spoke out. Dean’s head slowly turned to face him. “How are you? Wait, no, let me rephrase. What in the flying hell are you doing here?”

“What the fuck is this?” Dean held up the magazine, fist shaking.

“That’s our magazine!” Gabriel exclaimed. “One of the best in the nation if you ask me.”

“You know what I mean,” Dean said with a scoff, flinging the magazine at Gabriel.

“Look, this story came to us, I swear,” he laughed. “One day, I came in and the envelope was just sitting on my desk! I would have been stupid if I didn’t print it. Plus, Naomi would have had my head.”

“None of what’s in there is true!” Dean screamed in anger.

“Whoa, then why are you so riled up?” Gabe snorted, holding his hands up.

“Because I hate when lies are printed about me,” Dean said through clenched teeth, green eyes burning. “Jo is pissed at me and my house is now a paparazzi circus. All because of you,” he pointed straight between Gabriel’s eyes.

“Hey, I _only_ printed what I saw, I didn’t fabricate this story! Maybe you need to go to that Tesla girl that sent it to us,” Gabriel said.

“Tes-What?”

“Tesla B., the girl who signed the letter!” Gabriel said with a motion towards the magazine. “She’s the one that sent us the pictures and the info. You didn’t read the whole article?”

“N-No,” Dean shook his head in disbelief, eyes training on the glossed paper.

* * *

“Jess, I need to talk to you!” you screamed.

“Hey, yo, hold up,” Jess excused herself from the two producers she was conversing with and quickly led you to the nearest empty room.

“I can’t believe she’d do this to me! I can’t even—” you groaned, pulling at your hair.

“Wait, what are you talking about? What’s wrong?” Jess shook your shoulders, blue eyes wide opened as she demanded an answer.

“This,” your voice broke as you handed her the magazine. “She betrayed me. She betrayed fifteen years of friendship.”

“Holy shit,” Jess murmured as her eyes skimmed through the words. “Tesla did this?”

“I have told her _everything_ , things I haven’t even told you,” you screeched. “She knows how much Dean means to me, how much he’s confused me since he came back, about the kiss, and everything else. She’s knows it all. Who else could it have been?”

“Where did she get the pictures—Oh, the time at the coffee shop,” she gasped.

“I can’t believe her,” you clamped your eyes shut before letting a sob escape.

“This is all kinds of fucked up, Y/N,” Jess said.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” you murmured, wrapping arms around yourself and allowing the tears to cascade down your cheeks. “How could she have done this? How could she?”

“Okay, okay, it’ll be alright,” Jess said, embracing you close and kissing your temple. “We’ll get through this, okay?”

She stayed with you for a few minutes, rocking you back and forth until you had somewhat calmed down from frantic sobs to muffled sniffles and an occasional tear. She pulled you away from where you had dug your face into your shoulder and smiled sweetly as she wiped your tears with a tissue.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

“Not so much,” you answered with a pout.

“Lucky for you, Cas and I have the rest of the day off!” she said with a grin. “So, now I’m going to fetch him and we’re all going to go back to your house and put on a Netflix marathon with pizza delivery and all the ice cream buckets of the century.”

You spent the rest of your day in the company of your fiancée and one of your best friends, all while ignoring Tesla’s calls. You had wanted to answer them, to scream at her until your voice was hoarse, but Jess convinced you otherwise and you let her explain to Cas just what had happened, how Dean and you had nothing to do with each other. Cas only responded with an embrace and an “I love you,” making you sigh in relief and cling desperately to him.

* * *

“Why did you do that?” Cas grabbed her shoulders, demanding an answer.

“Because it was the only thing that would make you see that she’s not the one for you,” the woman replied, tears streaking her cheeks as her voice broke. “I wanted you to see her for the cheater that she is.”

“I am no better than her,” Cas said through gritted teeth. “I’m cheating on her, I’ve been cheating on her for over a year now. I’m worse.”

“No, we love each other!” she screeched. “Her and Dean, what they have is _nothing_ compared to what we have.”

“What I had with Y/N—”

“It didn’t make you happy, Cas!”

“But it offered me mind of peace, not this constant stress and paranoia of getting caught!”

“That’s why you should let her go to Dean! You know they kissed! You have enough evidence with you to break up with her!”

“She’s broken! She doesn’t want Dean, she wants me. I can’t leave her alone like that, after all, that’s all your doing,” he said with a dry laugh. “Don’t you feel any remorse? She’s your best friend after all.”

“Not when I see how unhappy you are with her,” she knelt in front of Cas, taking his face into her hands and thumbing his cheekbones tenderly. “You are happy with me, baby, not her. So, please, break up with her, let her run to Dean.”

“She’s not going to do that, she’s not like me, she’s not like you.”

“Don’t you love me?”

“Of course I do,” Cas rolled his eyes. “Don’t come to me with that shit. You know I love you. But I also love her.”

* * *

Eventually, Tesla’s phone calls stopped and you holed yourself up in your house. You were sufficiently successful in your field to take more than a week off, and so no one questioned you as you shot down your appointments and handed them to other photographers you knew were going to perform spectacularly.

You found an oasis in binge-watching shows that shielded you from your own problems, from your mind taking over and making you go crazy. Jess often came over to keep you company and tell you all about her and Cas’ crazy adventures while trying to get the latest stories and you’d end up laughing until your stomach hurt you. She laughed along with you until she was red in the face and you were leaning against each other, peals mingling together.

After a week of trying to get contact of you and Cas, and failing, the reporters stopped harassing the both of you and you finally deemed it safe enough to emerge from your apartment and accepting jobs. You avoided the ones that bore Dean Winchester’s name as one of the models and only worked with names you didn’t recognize, hoping to run into him sometime in the far-off distant future. You knew you had to see him sooner or later, but you preferred never and that kept you avoiding him as much as you could.

“Hey,” Cas’ voice made you glance up from your laptop as he stepped into your office. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good,” you said with a grin, happy to see him. “How are you?”

“I’m great,” he answered, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking fidgety as he approached you. He wanted something and you smiled affectionately at him.

“Okay, out with it,” you motioned.

“What are you talking about?” he chuckled.

“You clearly want something. So, out with it Cas,” you said, waving him over to you. You closed your computer and got on your feet to meet him eye-to-eye. “What do you need from me?”

“Do you remember that report we’re doing on corrupt businesses?” he inquired cautiously.

“Yes,” you drawled out your response, dreading the next part of this conversation.

“Well,” he paused, rubbing the nape of his neck. “I kind of need you to help me get in touch with the CEO of Bart’s Fabrics. I know you’ve worked with him on multiple occasions, and from what I’ve remembered, you enjoyed your time with him, so I was wondering if you could give me his number and—”

“No,” you shook your head. “Absolutely not.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because that phone number he gave me was only for me.”

“I’m your fiancée,” Cas scoffed. “Doesn’t that count for something?”

“He is my client, he deserves respect and my full discretion,” you returned. “Giving you his number will violate that.”

“Come on, Y/N,” Cas took your hand. “Please, let me have his number. It’ll further our reports and we can get this story out there faster.”

“Sometimes I think you only keep me around because of my connections,” you muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“N-Nothing,” you sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Nothing. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Is that what you really think of me? That I’m taking advantage of you?” Cas’ voice was dripping in ire and you cringed.

“N-No. I just—”

“At least I haven’t fucking cheated on you!” he screamed.

“What?” your head snapped up, eyes opened wide in surprise. “I didn’t—”

“Oh, save the talk,” he snorted. “I know.”

“How did you even?”

“I’m a reporter, it’s my job to know,” he answered. “These things are second nature to me.”

“No, it’s not that, someone told you,” you gasped. “ _Tesla_.”

You ignored Cas’ demands for you to get back to him and dashed out of your office, heading down the stairs and exiting the building. You waved a cab and quickly clambered in, giving him Tesla’s home address.

* * *

Tesla shot up from her couch, quickly fixing her hair before she got the door. She wiped at her cheeks and made sure she looked somewhat presentable before giving up. “It’s useless, I feel and look like shit,” she told herself.

With her hand on the doorknob, she took a deep breath and opened it, smiling at the sweet grin that met her.

“Hey, you, long time no see,” he said, opening his arms for her. A fresh wave of tears brimmed over as she ran into his arms.


	5. Chapter 5

“It’s so nice to see you,” Dean said with a grin as Tesla invited him inside. “How’s everything with you?”

“Work is great,” Tesla answered. “Things with Y/N, though… Not so much.”

“She still thinks you actually sent those pictures in?” he asked with a gasp.

“She never once thought that it could have been Jess. I mean, it was her, I know it. I think she has a thing for Cas or something, but the mere fact that she thinks I actually did that—I kicked her out of my office at work, Dean.”

“Damn,” he muttered.

“I kind of want to smack her to oblivion,” she said, before laughing with Dean at the thought of that.

“She should know better than try to accuse you,” Dean said with a shake of his head. “I mean, you’re her best friend, you’ve been with her since before me. You’re still with her.”

“Exactly!” Tesla exclaimed. “I was there when she got her first kiss, when she got her heart broken by you, which was a douche move, by the way. You were a complete dick. I was there with her when we graduated—”

“Whoa, whoa, rewind,” Dean said, raising his hand defensively. “I had my reasons for not calling back.”

“What were they, Dean?”

“I was busy! It was a new town we were in and then I got discovered and began modeling. I had to constantly go back and forth between home and the places they sent me.”

“You could have taken five minutes out of your time to explain that to her, though,” Tesla stood up by now, voice rising. She had always wanted an explanation for Dean’s behavior back then, and now she was going to get it. “You were a complete jerk just leaving her high and dry like that.”

“I was busy!” he stood up with you, matching the level of your voice. “I had things to do! I’m sorry if I can’t—”

“Call your fucking girlfriend and tell her that you were too busy,” she screeched. “Or better yet! Just tell her you’re not interested anymore so she could stop calling you and not beat herself up over what she had done wrong. Come on, Dean,” Tesla scoffed through her nostrils.

“Tesla,” your voice made both Dean and Tesla jump, their heads snapping to where you were standing. You were seething, fists trembling as you glared at her. “First, you tell Cas about things that he shouldn’t know. And now I come here to see you and Dean?”

“What are you—”

Tesla didn’t have time to finish her sentence, you lunged at her, your fist landing on her jaw. A sickening crunch reverberated before Dean screamed through your angry haze. Tesla crumpled to the floor, cradling her injured face as she glared up at you.

“You don’t know anything,” she stated.

“Oh, I know plenty,” you leapt at her, landing another punch to her eye before Dean was grappling for your waist and pulling you away from Tesla’s form. She did nothing to defend herself as you screamed obscenities at her, tears streaking down your cheeks.

“Hey, hey!” Dean waved his hand in your face, snapping his fingers. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“She’s a fucking backstabber!” you screamed, sobbing loudly. “I trusted her with everything and she goes ahead and does this to me!”

“You’re fucking deluded,” Dean scoffed, smiling with no humor behind it.

“Get out!” Tesla yelled. “Get out of my house, Y/N!” she struggled to get on her feet, dizziness threatening to send her back crumbling to the floor, but still managed to remain upright. Her eye was quickly bruising and Dean had to hold you back from lunging at her once again.

“You’re going to pay for what you did,” you threatened.

“Bring it on, bitch,” she said, sneering as Dean quickly ushered you out of her apartment. He closed the door behind himself before staring at you, mouth agape.

“What the hell happened to you?” he asked, genuinely perplexed.

“My best friend backstabbed me, in case you haven’t noticed,” you crossed your arms over your chest, rolling your eyes.

“You’re bloody insane,” he said, before turning his back on you and walking into Tesla’s apartment once again. You heard the lock click and your chest tightened. Dean had just taken her side, without once thinking how you felt. You furiously wiped at the tears falling down your cheeks and exited the building, climbing into the first available taxi you saw.

You gave the taxi driver your address and dialed Cas’ number, almost throwing your phone across the vehicle when he didn’t answer. The driver chanced a glance at you and immediately, you felt self-conscious, reining in your anger and pinching the bridge of your nose.

The drive to your house felt eternal, but you eventually arrived and after paying, you clambered out and ran up the stairs until you stood in front of your front door, panting and trying to get your breath back in check.

All you wanted to do was climb into bed with Cas, have his arms hold you close and make you forget about how painful it had felt to see Dean take Tesla’s side, to see Tesla on the floor knowing that she had done all of that to ruin you. You grappled for your house keys in your purse before eventually finding them and unlocking the door.

Kicking your shoes off, you dragged your feet and hoped that Cas was home as you stepped into your bedroom. Your eyes widened at the trail of clothes that littered the floor from the door to the bed. There were two people on the mattress, you recognized Cas’ broad back as he moved rhythmically, hovering above a woman’s form. Suddenly, her hands came to grab on to his shoulders and you realized that they were Jess’ hands.

“C-Cas?” you stammered out. “Jess?”

Cas jumped at the sound of your voice, flinging himself off Jess’ body and covering his indecency with the sheets. “Y-Y/N,” he stuttered, voice breathless.

“A-Are you serious?” you said, feeling the tears already stinging at the back of your eyes.

“I-I can explain,” Cas got on his feet, wrapping the blanket around his waist and reaching for you.

“Get away from me,” you clenched your fists, your voice breaking. “How could—How could you do this to me?”

“Easy,” Jess shrugged as she crossed her arms, leaning on the headboard. You turned to look at her and was surprised at the cold disdain you saw in her blue eyes. “I love him and he loves me. It’s been happening for over a year now, just that Cas didn’t want to hurt you. Guess we got that over with.”

“But, why?” you asked, trying to wrap your head around what Jess had just told you. “Y-You’re my best friend and—”

“I loved him since before you were _ever_ in the picture!” Jess screeched. “Cas was supposed to be mine and then you just sauntered in and took him from me. I wasn’t going to stand by and do nothing! He was mine, Y/N. He always has been.”

“Cas?” you look at your fiancée, who was sitting with his shoulders slumped on the foot of the bed, head in his hands.

“Cas is mine!” Jess flung herself off the bed. “And everything that happened has been me, it hasn’t been Tesla.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me how you felt?” you cried out.

“Because I love you, I didn’t want it to happen this way,” Cas said with a whisper. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Too late for that,” you murmured.

“Y/N,” Cas reached out for you.

“No, no,” you shook your head, backing out of the room and dashing across the living room, quickly shoving your feet into your flats and grabbing your purse. Before Cas could think of coming after you, you were out of the apartment and running down the stairs.

You would have gone to Tesla’s at this point, but you had ruined things with her. You knew that you had torn her friendship apart, that things would never be the same between the two of you. The thought of Tesla sent a pang through your chest and you cried uncontrollably, quickly finding a secluded spot to scream out your frustrations.

How could you have been so stupid? You hadn’t even let Tesla explain herself, had immediately jumped to conclusions when you knew deep down that Tesla wouldn’t have done such a thing to you. You suddenly remembered telling Jess about the kiss between you and Dean, wanting to slap yourself for assuming it had been Tesla who had told him. Never had it crossed your mind that the long periods of time Cas and Jess spent together had led to this.

Your sobs eventually subsided and you sighed softly, deciding to walk aimlessly through the streets while trying to sort your thoughts out. Yet your mind screamed expletives at you, cursing you for being wrong and ruining the one friendship that had always been there for you. After drifting for an hour or so, you found yourself taking a seat on a bar, asking for the strongest liquor they had.

You cried into your drink, the barman barely giving you a second glance. He was used to people walking in and crying their hearts out to the drinks he served them. You cried until you knew your eyes were swollen and it’d take a while for them to go back to normal.

“Are you alright, dear?” the voice of an older woman made you jump and she placed a tender hand on your shoulder.

“Excuse me?” you whispered.

“You seem like you’ve had a pretty bad day,” she said, handing you a tissue.

“The worst,” you admitted, blowing your nose and swiping at your tears. “The absolute fucking worst. I really don’t know how I’m going to fix this.”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” she said, rubbing her hand on your back. “But I know that a smart girl like you will find a way around it. You’ll see better days, don’t worry.”

“I ruined my friendship with my closest friends, I punched her,” you sobbed, holding up your hand so she could see the bruises on your knuckles.

“Give it some time, and then go talk to her,” she patiently stated. “If she’s a real friend, which I’m pretty sure she is, she’ll understand.”

“Oh, God, I’m pathetic,” you laughed dryly.

“Hardly,” she smiled. “Now, I must get going, dear. I wish you the best.” She patted your shoulder before climbing down the bar stool and walking out of the bar. You waved at her as she left and laid your head down on the counter.

“Want something else, miss?” the barman questioned.

“Water, please,” you answered. He promptly handed you a glassful of ice water and you gulped it down, feeling yourself sober up a bit.

You sulked for a few more minutes, dreading going back home and facing Cas. After paying for you drinks, you figured that you eventually had to face him and promptly got on your feet.

“I can do this, I can do this, I can do this,” you cheered yourself on.

* * *

Cas wasn’t there when you got home, much to your relief. You quickly got rid of your clothes and decided to sleep in the guest room, not wanting to even glance at the bed that you had once shared with Cas. It disgusted you to think that you had once told Cas you loved him on the very same mattress that he had slept with Jess. The sounds of them together still rang in your ears and you quickly took out your phone, connecting it to the portable speakers. The music blared loudly until you couldn’t hear yourself think and you laid there, on your back, trying to reminisce on the times when things had been simpler.

You eventually fell asleep, your arms pulling a pillow closer to your frame and curling in on it. You woke up to someone shaking your shoulder and jumped back at Cas touching you.

“What are you doing here?” you croaked out.

“I—I, uh, came to pick my stuff up,” he tried to smile, yet it looked like a grimace. “I figured you wouldn’t want me here, so I’m going to stay over at Jess’.”

“Do whatever you want,” you waved him away, dropping your head on the pillow once again.

“I’m really sorry, Y/N,” Cas whispered.

“Fuck off,” you responded.

He left without another word, closing the door behind him. You tried to control your crying until you were sure he was really gone and dug your face into the pillow, your tears wetting it.

After a few hours, you got on your feet and took a deep breath, rubbing your swollen eyes with the heels of your hands. Finding nothing to do, you decided to begin packing Cas’ things, have them ready for him out in the hallway. He had no reason to come back into your apartment and you were going to make sure he never did. It took you half the day to get everything organized, but by that evening, you had an appointment set with a locksmith to get your locks changed the next day.

The part where you were completely lost was how to even begin to rekindle your friendship with Tesla. You knew you had done things that would be hard to forgive and you wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want to talk to you ever again, but the least you could do was try to reach for her. You rubbed your face with a hand and sighed deeply, trying to figure out how to even start to apologize to her.

* * *

The days went by slowly and you decided to bury yourself in your work, trying to convince yourself that you didn’t miss Cas’ arms around you at night nor Tesla’s calls to tell you something exciting that had happened to her during the day.

Your photoshoots meshed together until you couldn’t differentiate them and you were glad when no one asked questions about your well-being. You had managed to keep everything inside and you knew that if someone asked, the dam would disintegrate and you’d be a heaping mess of sobs and tears.

A week after finding out about Cas and Jess, you were preparing yourself for a photoshoot when Dean stepped into the room. Your eyes widened and you glanced at the person in charge of the costumes.

“What’s going on? I thought we were shooting with Francesco.”

“Oh, yeah, the boss decided to go with Dean Winchester at last minute,” she smiled, clapping excitedly. “He’s so handsome, I can’t wait to dress him up.”

You shot her a strained smile before turning towards your camera, adjusting the settings in order to have something else to look at. You cringed as you felt him standing next to you.

“I had nothing to do with this arrangement,” he said as a greeting.

“I never said you did,” you spat back.

“I know, but since you like assuming shit you don’t know anything about,” he shrugged nonchalantly.

“We’re not going to discuss this here,” you glared up at him. “Go get dressed and ready, I’ll be here waiting so we can get this over with.”

He huffed softly before starting to make his way towards the dressing room. He was halfway there when he stopped and turned back towards you. “Oh, by the way, when you interrupted Tesla and I from arguing, it was because she was demanding an explanation as to why I had stopped talking to you all those years ago. She was mad at me, because I broke _your_ heart.”

“Why are you telling me this?” you said, managing to keep your voice despite the knot forming in your throat.

“Because I thought you ought to know,” he said. “She defended you until the very last second.”


	6. Chapter 6

Dean’s words stuck to your mind like cement glue, repeating themselves over and over again until you heard disgust and contempt drip from every word. Fifteen minutes after Dean entered the dressing room, he was being ushered out by the costume designer, who was also a huge fan of his. She was making animated conversation and you held back the scowl from how easily he was smiling back at her, chatting her up just as enthusiastically.

You clapped your hands and announced the start of the shoot, brusquely ordering Dean into different poses and barely giving him time to get ready before you started taking the shots. Dean seemed annoyed at this and you smirked in satisfaction at the aggravated look in his green eyes as he stared into the lens of the camera.

To your surprise, despite your outright unprofessionalism during the shoot, he still managed to nail every shot and soon you were ordering everyone to start taking the set down. You were pretty sure that the editor-in-chief would be more than satisfied with the frames you had taken and politely thanked Dean and the crew for their jobs before starting to gather your things.

You moved slowly, Dean’s words now coming back to your thoughts. You had nothing to distract you from thinking how much you had fucked up and that you were at a loss on how to fix things with Tesla. You glanced around the room and realized that there was no one else, the things were put away so everyone had already left. You inhaled deeply, trying not to cry before a sob escaped your throat. Your hand rose to cover your mouth and unbidden tears began to fall.

Dropping to your knees, your arms came to surround your chest in an attempt to hug yourself as you cried uncontrollably, overwhelmed by the thought of how truly lonely you felt. Jess would usually be hugging you by now as Tesla would declare war on whomever had hurt you. They’d have you smiling in no time, laughing at silly things Tesla did and how red Jess got whenever she laughed too hard. But things were now different.

Your friendships with them had been torn apart. Jess had been the one to start, but you had done the rest on your own. You had assumed the worst of Tesla and had not given her a chance to prove you wrong, even though she told you it hadn’t been her. Jess’ betrayal hurt more than Cas’ cheating and your tears turned angry at the thought of what she had done.

Grabbing your purse, you clawed at its contents until you had located your phone, quickly dialing Tesla’s number from memory. You were making to give her a call when gentle fingers pried the device from your hand. In your mouth were the words of protest when you recognized Dean’s face. He had a gentle look about him as he smiled in pity.

“What—”

“I don’t think she’ll want to talk to you just yet,” he said, putting the phone back into your purse and sitting cross-legged in front of you.

“What do you know?” you spat, glaring at your lap and avoiding those green eyes of his.

“I know she’s really hurt,” he answered. “You really hurt her, Y/N. And calling her will only make it worse. She’s still recovering from those punches. I almost took her to the hospital. A few millimeters to the left and you’d have seriously damaged her eye.”

“Why are you telling me this?” you cringed guiltily, biting your lower lip to hold back the tears.

“Because Tesla deserves an apology in person,” Dean replied, placing a hand on your shoulder. “And you know that.”

“I don’t even know where to begin,” you said, honesty weaving through your voice as you pressed your knuckles to your eye. “I was incredibly harsh and she didn’t deserve any of that.”

“You’ll know eventually,” Dean said before sighing softly. “Well, I have to go. Have a date with my girlfriend. Do you need me to help you out?”

“I’ll be fine, Dean,” you replied, ignoring the sting his words produced. Dean nodded once before walking away, closing the door behind him.

You pinched the bridge of your nose and stayed sitting for a few minutes, trying to stop yourself from crying more and get on your feet. You had another photoshoot tomorrow and the last thing you wanted was to show up with puffy, swollen eyes. There were already magazine articles about you and Cas, speculating about what had occurred for you to be seen out without him next to you while Cas seemed entirely unaffected as he worked on his show with Jess.

You made it home half an hour later and got into your pajamas, snuggling deep into your new bed sheets, smiling at the absence of Cas’ scent in them. You had done your best to erase him from your home and had even gotten new curtains, towels, and even silverware. Everything that had reminded you of him had been promptly thrown out and you felt slightly relieved by that thought.

The following morning, you were preparing yourself a hearty breakfast in celebration of a full night of sleep when you made the terrible mistake of turning on your T.V. The last time you had flicked it on was to watch an episode of Cas and Jess’ program when an excited Jess had made you watch a report she had worked quite hard on.

It was nine thirty and Cas’ show was already halfway through. Bile rose up in your throat and you were making to change the channel when the camera shifted to focus on a widely-smiling Jess. You knew that look on her, she was obviously out of her wits excited as she took Cas’ hand with her right one before holding up her left.

“We have a wonderful announcement for our viewers,” she said elatedly. Cas looked on with a loving gaze and smiled at the camera. “Cas and I have gotten engaged.”

Your stomach dropped like a heavy stone to your feet. You took in the picture perfect image of them onscreen as Jess showed off her giant diamond ring. The audience clapped, overtly pleased with these news as Cas and Jess shared a brief kiss in front of them. By now, your knees had buckled and you sat heavily on your couch.

With great effort, you turned off the television before tossing the remote across the room, paying no attention to the loud clatter it produced. It hurt you beyond comprehension to have seen that, to see Cas and Jess so happy when you felt broken and meek. Your elbows planted on your knees, you dug your head into your hands as your shoulders shook with your cries. You knew you were crying quite loudly, yet it didn’t deter you from doing so. Instead, you pulled at your hair and tried to ignore how it felt harder to breathe with every sob that emanated from your throat.

Eventually, your cries subsided to sniffles and you forced yourself to get on your feet. Not really caring for your appearance, you only managed to change into jeans and a sweatshirt before grabbing your house keys and purse. You didn’t know what explanation you’d offered, but you desperately needed her arms around you.

Twenty minutes later, your fist thwacked against Tesla’s front door as you willed yourself to not cry anymore. The moment of Jess’ announcement kept replaying in your head and each repetition felt more painful than the last. After a few seconds of waiting, the door burst open to reveal a surprised, yet concerned, Tesla.

“Y/N?” she said in surprise.

“I’m sorry for doing this,” you forced out, rubbing at your nose with the sleeve of your sweatshirt.

“What’s going on?” she asked, concerned for the way you looked. You felt like laughing at her. She always seemed to put your well-being first. How you even began to accuse her of betrayal and backstabbing was beyond you now. That thought brought an onslaught of guilt and you grimaced. She raised a brow at you, eyes wary.

“I’m sorry,” you repeated, this time apologizing for something else entirely. “I’m sorry I was such a shitty person. I’m sorry for hitting you, for hurting you. I’m sorry for assuming the worst when it should have been more than obvious that you would _never_ do such a thing.”

“You should have known that before accusing me,” she said dryly, arms over her chest. She looked slightly intimidating and you winced visibly.

“I know,” you whispered. “I was horrible. I was overwhelmed and felt attacked and thought the worst. I didn’t think how much I’d hurt you in the process, and I’ll keep apologizing for the rest of our lives if it makes you feel better.”

“Well, we can start with five times every day,” she said. “And then, after a year, it can be twice a week. Then we’ll to once a week before eventually once a month. Oh, and you’ll also have to buy me presents every now and then. You know, to appease me from retracting from forgiving you.”

“Hey, once you forgive, you can’t take it back,” you protested, wanting to smile at the slight warmth that had returned to Tesla’s voice. You would always scold her for being so forgiving, but couldn’t help but to feel glad of it now.

“You punched me twice,” she stated. “I think I’m more than entitled to set the terms here.”

Your shoulders slumped in defeat and you nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll do everything you want me to.”

“I’m not saying I forgive you right now,” she said. “But you obviously overcame your pride because of something. Let me guess. You saw those two maggots’ engagement announcement?”

You recoiled at her words before assenting. “Yeah,” your voice trembled and you worried at your lower lip, tears already making your eyes shine.

Tesla sighed and rolled her eyes, grabbing your wrist and pulling you into her apartment. You stumbled forward and squeaked in surprised as she slammed the door closed. Momentarily distracted from the pain in your chest, you were flabbergasted as Tesla wrapped her arms around you. Then the memories of seeing Cas and Jess look so happy came back and you sobbed loudly into Tesla’s shoulder.

She held you close until you couldn’t cry anymore. When you finally pulled away from her, it was only to laugh softly at her scowl upon feeling the snot and tears you had left behind on her shirt. You apologized but she waved you away and walked into the kitchen to fetch a warm, damp paper towel to clean your face with.

Things were still tense between you and Tesla, but you couldn’t really blame her. In fact, you were more than willing to continue making things up with her until your friendship was restored and were content when by the end of the afternoon, Tesla seemed to have warmed up considerably.

“If it’s any consolation,” she sighed as you got on your feet to go back to your own apartment. The following day, you had two photoshoots scheduled and you had to be up before the sunrise to get everything prepared. “I don’t think they’ll be happy together. Cas is not one to tolerate being told what to do. Jess is bossy. They don’t mesh well.”

“Are you calling me passive?” you gasped.

“Duh,” she rolled her eyes.

You were making to defend yourself when you took in Tesla’s challenging brow. You weren’t in the position to tell her anything and sighed softly, happy to have your best friend back despite the tension. She smiled in satisfaction and walked you to her apartment’s entrance. “I’ll call you when I can,” you promised “So we can have lunch together whenever you’re available.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding her head. “Take care and get home safe.”

“Goodnight,” you smiled and waved at her before walking away.

* * *

Things eased for you after your conversation with Tesla. Knowing you had her by your side again seemed to fill you with hope and she seemed to ease up with every conversation you had. You tried to not be bothered by her reluctance in being too trusting of you, opting to just trust her fully when it came to your affairs. You couldn’t help but to think her right in the way she was acting. You’d also be wary of yourself if you had been in her position.

Two weeks after that night of apologies at her home, you burst into her office waving a paper in your hand, much to the chagrin of Tesla’s coworkers. You had caused quite a racket as you ran through the intricate arrangement of cubicles before slamming yourself against the oak door of her private office and pushing it open. She glanced up at the manuscript she was reading in alarm before she recognized you.

“What the hell?” she asked.

“I won!” you squealed, shoving the paper into her hands. She raised a brow before her eyes darted down to read the letter.

You had entered the _Terry O’Neill Photography Award_ on a whim and had promptly forgotten about it. It was kind of a big deal to win it, but you had convinced yourself that your work wouldn’t be recognized despite your prominence in the fashion world and had discarded the excitement of it a few days after submitting your photographs. It was a prestigious award and first place not only came with international recognition, but a nice sum of money to add to your bank account.

Tesla squealed loudly as she finished reading the letter before wrapping her arms around your shoulders. The both of you screamed and jumped together for a few moments before pulling away.

“Congratulations!” she remarked. “This is wonderful, Y/N!”

“Thank you,” you smiled widely, your heart beating wildly in your chest. Tesla seemed genuinely glad for you and that seemed to make you happier than the thought of winning the photography award. She promptly asked you what you were going to wear the evening you accepted the award and you answered honestly. “I have no idea.”

“Let’s go shopping,” she grinned, cancelling all of her appointments before weaving her arm through yours and dragging you across the city in search of the perfect evening gown for the awards dinner.

A week later found you glancing nervously at Tesla as she finished the last touches on your makeup and looked at you in satisfaction. She whistled and winked at you flirtatiously. “If I weren’t your best friend and otherwise not interested, I’d be all up in that,” she gestured at your gown-clad frame.

“I take it I look good,” you smiled.

“You look hot,” she enunciated. “I swear, if you don’t manage to get any tonight, I will personally smack every person in the auditorium with you. Because, girl, I’d take you home myself.”

“Stop it,” you rolled your eyes despite the wide smile on your lips.

“Alright, you have to get going,” Tesla promptly said. “I called you a limo, took the liberty to use your card.”

“Seriously?” you scoffed.

“Hey, it’s only right that the award winner arrived in a limo!” she exclaimed. “So, you’re welcome.”

You were at a loss for words as she took your hand and dragged you out of your house and down the stairs towards the limousine already waiting for you in the front of the building. Tesla gave you a quick kiss to the cheek and waved happily the vehicle sped off with you inside. You wrung your hands nervously, not quite accustomed to being the center of attention.

Twenty minutes later, you were being ushered into a lavish building with your arm hanging off the firm bicep of a handsome man as he led you to your seat. He offered you a soft smile as you sat down before nodding and strutting off as you tried not to let your jaw hang open at his retreating form. He was beautiful and being that you were recently-single, you didn’t shy away from looking at cute men.

Peeling your eyes away from the man’s buttocks, you glanced around and politely smiled at the people you made eye contact with before the lights dimmed and a lone figure came to stand in the center of the dark stage. You squinted in a poor attempt to recognize the person before a single spotlight was illuminated on him. There was applause as he smiled widely at the audience and you gasped. Dean Winchester was the one to present the award tonight.

“Welcome to _The Terry O’Neill Photography Awards_ ,” he said, voice deep and rich. “I am delighted to be here tonight and be able to present this wonderful award to the prestigious photographers deserving of recognition for their wonderful mastery of their artwork. I am especially honored to be able to be the one to present the first prize to a very dear friend of mine, a woman who has been a part of my life since I was but eleven years old. But more of that later,” he winked as you sharply inhaled. “Let’s begin with those photographers who are worthy of recognition.”

The awards show continued for an hour and a half in which you became enraptured in the way that Dean commanded the attention of an audience, the ease in which he moved and made everyone laugh. His smile was contagious and more than once his eyes found yours in the crowd, refusing to look away when he did so.

After every other award was presented, it was time to announce the winner and Dean straightened up. He cleared his throat before looking for you and smiling softly when he found you. “The winner of this photography award deserves all the recognition she is receiving,” he began, voice laced with sincerity and affection. “After all, she has shown passion for photography since before I even met her. It was fate that made me sit down next to her on our first day of sixth grade and we soon became best friends. I got to know her well and often became the subject of her photographs as her passion for this art grew. You could say that she was one of the great influences that pushed me to be where I am today. She is strong and incredibly stubborn, but with a tender disposition and a heart willing to love with every fiber of her being. I was once at the receiving end of that love after all.

This incredible ability to care for others seeps into her photography and you are able to see that she puts great care into each and every one of her photographs, be it of models such as myself, nature, or common, mundane affairs surrounding us every day. She is a woman who places everything she’s got into her projects and has always been like this. She is someone I admired when I was a teenager and continue to do so despite the years that have transpired. Please, give a round of applause to Y/N Y/L/N.”

You gasped as the audience erupted in applause, Dean joining them with a wide grin on his face. You got on your feet despite your shaky legs and smiled gratefully at an older gentleman when he helped you up the steps to the stage. Dean took your hand from the man’s and smiled down softly at you. You wanted to ask him if he meant everything he had said, but it wasn’t the right time. He leaned down to press a kiss to your cheek before swiping at your tears with quick swipes of his handkerchief.

“Sorry, I didn’t know I was crying,” you whispered.

“You have every right to,” he grinned, turning towards the model holding the trophy and taking it from her hands. He handed you the award before motioning towards the microphone. “Want to say a few words?”

You nodded absently, moving to stand before the mic stand. Your lips parted before you noticed that Dean was no longer next to you. You glanced around you before his hand came to wrap around your elbow. “I’m right here,” he said with a chuckle.

You didn’t know why you had to make sure that he was standing with you, but you relaxed and went on to thank everyone that came to mind for playing a part in instilling the love of photography that had brought you to where you were tonight. Dean’s name was the last one you mentioned and you thanked him from the bottom of your heart for supporting you, for being your model even before his own career started, and for being there for you.

A flicker of sadness crossed Dean’s green eyes before it was replaced by a soft happiness at your success and he helped you off the stage before announcing the end of the ceremony. You waited for him as he climbed down the stairs. You smiled softly as his eyes met yours and were about to ask him if he wanted to share a drink with you when he brushed past you. Momentarily confused, you turned to look as he shared a soft kiss with the same blonde that had been with him that time you went out to eat with Cas.

“You were great,” she grinned up at Dean, swiping at his lips apologetically. “Sorry, I got lipstick all over you.”

“It’s okay,” he chuckled. He turned towards you and winked. “Congratulations, Y/N.”

“Congratulations,” the blonde said sincerely. You smiled despite the knot in your throat and nodded.

“Thank you. Goodnight,” you said, turning on your heel and basically running out of the auditorium. You clung on to the trophy Dean had handed to you himself, hoping it’d serve as an anchor to the growing hole in the pit of your stomach.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Tesla opened the door with a wide smile on her face. “How did it go?”

“Horrible,” you said, dragging your feet into her apartment and collapsing on her couch.

“Why? What happened?” she took a seat next to you, automatically wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

“Everything was great!” you whined. “It was all wonderful. Dean was the master of ceremonies or whatever, by the way.”

“No way,” she gasped with wide, brown eyes.

“He was so sweet when he introduced me, talked the greatest things about me despite everything,” you sighed, thumbing a loose thread on your jeans. “I was going to ask him out for a drink. Talk about everything that happened, you know?”

“But…” Tesla said in suspense.

“But his girlfriend was there,” you closed your eyes, embarrassed at the memory of you waiting eagerly for him when he had just stridden past you to be with his girlfriend. “He went to her. And I just ran out of there as fast as I could.”

“How dramatic,” Tesla scoffed.

“Hey, I panicked,” you glared up at her, to which she chuckled, tipping her head to kiss your cheek.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” she comforted. “I mean, what you and Dean had was so long ago. It’s in the past.”

You remained quiet for a bit, mulling over Tesla’s words before realizing she was right. Dean had happened so many years ago, back when you were growing up. He wasn’t a part of you anymore. And you weren’t a part of his life either.

“You’re right,” you muttered.

“No need to look miserable over it,” Tesla grinned, getting on her feet. “Now, how about you and I go out for some coffee?”

“Of course,” you rolled your eyes. “Coffee addict.”

“I get headaches whenever I don’t drink it, so hell yes,” she said, pulling you up to her.

You ordered tea and sat across from Tesla as she sipped on her own coffee, sighing happily at the taste. Smiling affectionately at her, you drummed your fingers against your mug, waiting for the liquid to cool off a bit before bringing it to your lips.

“Hey, isn’t that—Holy shit,” Tesla choked on her coffee, coughing into the sleeve of her jacket as she attempted to try to hide herself.

“What’s going on?” you insisted, looking at her as if she was demented.

“Put your head down!” she waved her arm. “Hide!”

“Good morning,” a familiar, deep voice made your spine stiffen. Perfect, just what you needed. You turned your head to the side jerkily and your eyes met blue ones.

You didn’t respond to Castiel’s greeting, choosing to shoot him an icy glare before turning back to Tesla, raising the cup of tea to your lips and taking a sip.

Castiel approached your table and grabbed a chair from nearby, taking a seat. “Look, Y/N, I didn’t mean to run into you, but since now we’re in the same place, I thought we could talk.”

“There is nothing you can say to me,” you spat.

“Come on, don’t be that way,” he sighed, reaching for your hand. You recoiled from his touch and shot him a disgusted expression. “Y/N, please.”

“Fuck off,” you glowered. “I don’t want you talking to me.”

“Cas, honey! Oh, there you are!” Jess’ voice reached your ears before she was close enough to recognize Tesla and you. She froze as she approximated the table and put on a tight smile. “Oh, Tesla! Y/N! Hi!”

Cas got on his feet to wrap his arm around Jess’ waist, smiling at her before turning towards you. “I’m sorry it had to be this way, Y/N.”

“I told you that I don’t have anything to say to you,” you glared. “So, please, leave Tesla and I alone.”

“Y/N, I really didn’t want our friendship ruined over this,” Jess sighed. Tesla snorted at Jess’ sad expression and got on her feet.

“You’re a lying, two-faced cunt,” she growled at Jess, hands clenched into tiny fists.

Jess rolled her eyes and laughed. “Please stay out of this. It’s none of your bus—”

Before Jess could finish her sentence, Tesla had swung her arm and clocked her right on the nose. The crack reverberated through the coffee shop and everyone turned to look as Jess fell to the floor in a heap. Tesla knelt to straddle her and began to throw punches whichever way she could. Jess’ screams were high-pitched, her arms flailing as she tried to shield herself from Tesla’s hits.

You scrambled out of your seat, attempting to pull Tesla away, but it was like she was glued to Jess and had to release all her pent-up anger. Jess’ cries soon turned into pleas, begging Tesla to stop. Things finally ended for Jess when Cas scooped Tesla in his arms and forced her away from his fiancée’s crumpled form.

“You fucking bitch! I swear, I’ll just fucking—” Tesla screeched. Her head turned and she recognized Cas as the one who had torn her away from Jess and growled, lunging herself at him. “Asshole!” she yelled as she landed a jab on his cheek. The sickening crunch made you wince as Cas pushed Tesla away to cover his injury.

“I hope the pair of you rot in hell!” Tesla cried, suddenly stopping her attack. Her chest was heaving and there were tears streaking down her cheeks. “I fucking hate you both.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Jess sniffled, looking up at her with hatred in her bruising eyes.

Tesla sneered at her, snorting at how pathetic she looked on the floor. “Maybe I won’t make you pay, but when you’re alone and bitter, remember me.”

She winked at the couple before taking your wrist and walking out of the establishment, dragging you along. She didn’t stop until she had turned a couple of corners and hailed a cab. When you were both finally inside the vehicle and Tesla had given the driver your address, she slumped into the seat, her head falling on your shoulder.

“What in the hell?” you scoffed.

“My hands hurt,” she whined, holding them out for you to see the forming bruises.

“I bet that felt great, though.”

“Oh, my God, you have no idea,” she groaned, only to laugh softly. “I know it was wrong, and they’re probably going to press charges against me. But fuck, it felt too good.”

“What if they do press charges against you, though?” you asked worriedly. “Tesla, what are you going to do?”

“There’s nothing money can’t fix,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “Plus, those two care way too much about their reps. I’ll threaten to ruin them. I’m not a public figure like they are.”

“Oh, God,” you moaned, pinching the bridge of your nose. “I can already see the headlines tomorrow. They’re going to eat us alive.”

“That’s why we will abstain ourselves from the outside world,” Tesla said with a grin, nudging your side. “What do you say we just stay at your house and marathon Harry Potter tomorrow? Oh, and Star Wars!”

“Avoid the problem, huh?”

“Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente,” she winked.

“What?” you raised a brow.

“It’s a Spanish saying,” she laughed. “Eyes that can’t see, heart that does not feel.”

“Insightful,” you teased.

“Shut up.”

You laughed together before Tesla was closing her eyes, relaxing herself against your frame.

Just as planned, the following day was spent marathoning your favorite movie series. Tesla ordered delivery and you both sat in front of the TV enjoying the characters you had grown up with. You rolled your eyes as Tesla drooled over Draco, declaring her undying love for the spoiled brat.

Around 6pm, your phone rang for the nth time and you finally decided to answer it. It hadn’t crossed your mind that it could be a job until that moment.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Y/L/N, hello,” a woman’s voice spoke. “How are you?”

“I’m well, thank you,” you replied. “How are you?”

“Likewise,” she responded.

She went on to introduce herself as a friend of your friend, editor-in-chief of a prominent European magazine. She had heard of your winning of _The Terry O’Neill Photography Award_ and was very much interested in having you travel to London to shoot a cover for her.

“We will provide everything you need,” she promised. “We’ve already chosen our model, only needed our photographer. And I think you’re the perfect one for the job.”

“Wow, thank you, ma’am,” you said sincerely. “It’d be an honor. When would you like me to travel to London?”

“How does Thursday sound?”

“In two days?”

“Is that too fast for you?”

“No, that’s okay,” you said. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so soon, but that’s perfect.”

“Wonderful!” she squealed. “I will be emailing you the details and will have my assistant personally book your plane ticket.”

“Thank you.”

“No, dear, thank you,” she said.

You quickly said your goodbyes before excitedly telling Tesla about your new job. She immediately ran to your room and began to search your closet for your best outfits.

“Dude, you have to take pictures of absolutely everything, you hear me?” she demanded as she rummaged through your clothes, tossing her favorites onto your bed. “You have to call me every night and tell me everything. I’ve always wanted to go to London and now I can live vicariously through you.”

“Why don’t you come with me?” you questioned, sitting on your bed to begin folding the clothes Tesla was picking out for you.

“I would, but I have meetings I can’t miss,” she sighed. “Fucking work.”

“We’ll go back together,” you promised with a smile.

“Duh,” she rolled her eyes, prompting you to do the same as she continued her quest.

* * *

Tesla dropped you off the airport two days later, hugging you tightly and wishing you safety on your trip. She made you promise that you’d bring her back a few souvenirs and sweets from across the pond, to which you agreed without hesitation.

She left you until you had passed the TSA inspection and gathered your belongings, waving at you from behind the fences around the entrance to the gates. You grinned and blew kisses at her until you disappeared behind a wall.

After locating your gate, you sighed in relief to find that they were about to board and you hadn’t been late at all.

The flight attendant smiled widely at you as you handed her your ticket and scanned the paper before motioning for you to go ahead. You gave her a polite smile before following her directions.

Once your handbag was placed inside the overhead bin, you took your seat and sighed softly, looking out the window. You were happy you got the window seat. You now had an excuse to ignore the person sitting next to you and look out instead.

Slowly, the plane began to fill up and you were beginning to feel happier at the thought that the passenger next to you wouldn’t show up. You were never big on talking. Just as they were about to close the gates, a man came running into the airplane, apologizing for being late.

Your eyes widened as you recognized him.

“Alright, sir, your seat is 2B,” the flight attendant said cheerily.

“Thanks,” he smiled before turning towards your row. His eyes met yours and you recognized the surprise in them.

“Hey, Dean,” you said, waving at him.

“Y/N, hey,” he sat down next to you, eyes never leaving yours. “You’re the photographer?”

“I’m guessing you’re the model.”

“The one and only.”

“Wonderful!”

“It’s gonna be fun,” he exclaimed. You smiled and turned towards the window, wanting to bash your head against it. Perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters will be posted as I write them and post them on tumblr.


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